Introduction
The International Pearl Design Competition (IPDC) was created in 2009 to recognize design excellence with all types of cultured pearls under the authority of the Cultured Pearl Association of America. The Awards are international in scope, and have garnered international recognition for both emerging and seasoned artists from all over the world. The judging process is anonymous, transparent, and confidential. Judges are leaders of the jewelry industry and include retailers, editors, buyers, and pearl jewelry craftsmen.
Recognition
Awards are given to entries that demonstrate high levels of design achievement in accordance with the judging criteria. Media opportunities, including coverage by industry publications, on the CPAA website, and in CPAA's digital #thisispearl magazine, will be available to winning designs.
All winners--U.S.–based, international, and students--receive certificates. Select pieces from U.S. finalists and winners go on display and sale at the Aaron Faber Gallery in New York City.
Awards routinely garner media opportunities in print and online publications, including coverage by jewelry trade magazines and this website.
Click here to see International winners and here to see U.S. winning pieces in the 2022 competition!
Award Divisions
There are two award divisions—international and domestic. Those who live outside the U.S. will compete by submitting renderings, CAD drawings, and sketches only. U.S.-based professional artisans will compete in two stages with finished jewels. Students can compete, too, in their category with renderings, CAD drawings, or sketches.
International Division Competitors
Those who live outside of the U.S. will compete by submitting renderings, CAD drawings, and sketches only.
U.S. Professional Division Competitors
If you are a professional designer and live within the U.S., you must compete with live, finished merchandise in two stages.
The first step is to submit a professional-looking photo of the completed design. U.S. entrants can no longer compete with CADs, renderings, or sketches. Finalists will be prejudged on these photographs and will be notified by Monday, Nov. 13.
The second step is for finalists (announced on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023) to mail their live goods/finished pieces to the CPAA for photography and live, in-person final judging in New York City. Select winning pieces and finalists go on display and sale at the Aaron Faber Gallery, while remaining finalists receive certificates. All contest U.S. participants must be prepared to possibly sell his or her work.
Important note about U.S. entries: Competitors must provide wholesale values of pieces if they are chosen as a finalist for live judging and know that their items could be sold. Anyone who wants to keep their piece, this is not the contest for you. The CPAA wants to facilitate end sales to the pearl-jewelry-loving public to better spread the word that pearl jewelry is for now and for every collector.
Award Categories (revised for 2023)
President’s Trophy. This top prize will be given to the piece deemed the most couture, beautiful and one-of-a-kind original design concept that is well made, celebrates pearls, and leaves a lasting impression of pearls as must-have gems.
Luster Award. These winning pieces represent the evolution of best-selling pearl jewelry designs and bear a covetable and marketable concept with wide appeal. New for 2022: these pieces must retail for $3,000 or less.
Visionary Award for Classic Styles. These winning pieces are attractive, creative, and salable, championing a fresh look for an iconic pearl style—strands, studs, bracelets, or a ring—to help change the dated perception of pearls in the market.
Wedding Day Pearls. These winning pieces best capture what a contemporary bride might wear on her wedding day.
Fashion Award. These winning pieces feature a creative compilation of materials fashioned into a youthful, high fashion, and original pearl jewelry design that looks as if it came straight from a Paris runway.
Spotlight Award—Multicolor Pearls for 2023. This category focuses on designs where 75 percent of the piece features a combination of three or more colors of any variety of pearl. The design should be attractive, clever, challenge the traditional-looking pearl jewelry aesthetic, entice a non-pearl-lover to start collecting, and serve as a celebration of the many different colors of pearls.
Student Award (for U.S. students only). This piece of jewelry should be sketched or presented a CAD rendering and can feature any color, shape, or variety of fine cultured pearls available on the market. The design should be fresh, modern, wearable, and defy outdated thoughts about wearing pearls.
Entrants need not choose their category; judges will decide those.
Entry Instructions for 2023
Entries will be accepted beginning Friday, June 30, 2023, until 6 p.m. EDT on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. An email confirming receipt of entry will be sent to all applicants within seven days of submission.
Requests to withdraw an entry will be accepted if made in writing no later than three days after submission, with a full refund of fees. After the three-day period, an entry can be withdrawn, but no refund of fees will occur.
Instructions for Entry/International Division Competitors
- In a Word document or in the body of an email, provide your name, mailing address, email address, job title (president, designer, etc.), and place of employment or name of your company as well as a few sentences about each design you are entering. Detail the name of the entry, if any, and provide a brief description of its materials--metal type, carat weights of gems if available, and exact pearl type (such as freshwater, akoya, or other)--design inspiration, wholesale price (new and important for this year), and any other important information that judges should consider. To ensure anonymity in judging, do not watermark your image or imprint your name on the image. Make sure all of this information is present! Double check your own work. Email this exact information along with images of your entries to the email address in the next bullet point.
- Email a minimum of one and a maximum of five shots (renderings, CADs, or sketches) for each entry to JHeebner@cpaa.org. Shots of International entries should be clear and easy-to-see sketches, CADs, or renderings of design(s) in JPEG format. Send only JPEG images! If you do not understand, you must find someone on your end to help you.
- Images should be no larger than 8½” x 11” and should be minimum dpi of 300.
- The actual piece of jewelry does not have to be made for submission. Only sketches, CADs, and renderings are accepted for international contest participants, no live goods.
- Finalists and winners will be chosen by judges during an in-person judging event. Winners and finalists receive a certificate.
- A fee of $225 should be paid by credit card for the first entry, with each subsequent entry--up to five total--costing an additional $175 apiece.
Tip: Look at the Awards categories and have one in mind when designing your piece. Also look at past winners for to gauge the level of professionalism judges are looking for.
Instructions for Entry/U.S. Division Competitors
Part I
- In a Word document or in the body of an email, provide your name, mailing address, email address, job title (president, designer, etc.), and place of employment or name of your company as well as a few sentences about each finished piece of jewelry you are entering. Detail the name of the entry, if any, and provide a brief description of its materials--metal type, carat weights of gems if available, and exact type of pearl (such as freshwater, akoya, or other)--design inspiration, wholesale price (new and important for this year), and any other important information that judges should consider. To ensure anonymity in judging, do not watermark your image or imprint your name on the image. Make sure all of this information is present! Double check your own work. Email this exact information along with up to five maximum images of your entries—photographs of finished pieces of live jewelry—to the email address in the next bullet point.
- Email a minimum of one and a maximum of five photographs for each entry to JHeebner@cpaa.org. U.S. entries should be clear and easy-to-see photographs of finished pieces in a JPEG format. Send only JPEG images! If you do not understand, you must find someone on your end to help you.
- Images should be no larger than 8½” x 11” and should be minimum dpi of 300.
- The actual piece of jewelry needs to be made and photographed for Part I of the contest entry.
- A fee of $225 should be paid by credit card for the first entry, with each subsequent entry--up to five total--costing an additional $175 apiece.
Part II
- On Monday, Nov. 13, finalists will be notified, If your piece or pieces are selected as a finalist (the category for which it was earmarked will not be revealed), you will be required to mail the item at your expense to CPAA headquarters along with a description of all materials used, including metal types, carat weights of gems, exact pearl types, and the wholesale value as shown. You also must accept the fact that your piece could be sold and that you may not see it again! (All finalist pieces will be professionally photographed on white, so you will at least have that as a reminder.)
- The second round of judging will take place in New York City in November 2023 by a panel of jewelry experts.
- Winners will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, at which point the items debut to the public at a reception and sale at the Aaron Faber Gallery in New York City, where the pieces will remain through the Christmas sales season. Unsold items will be returned to owners in late February.
- If your piece sells during the retail tour, you will be sent a check by the merchant who sold it. If your piece does not sell by the end of the tour, the CPAA will send it back to you.
- Questions? Email Jen at Jheebner@cpaa.org. Reach Jen at 267-481-4120. Jen is in the East Coast time zone.
Tip: Look at the Awards categories and have one in mind when designing your piece. Also look at past winners for to gauge the level of professionalism judges are looking for.
Student Awards
Students may enter one sketch or CAD rendering. The piece can feature any color, shape, or variety of fine cultured pearls available on the market. The design should be fresh, modern, wearable, and defy outdated thoughts about wearing pearls. Student entries are free. Email JHeebner@cpaa.org your your sketch or CAD rendering along with the name of your academic institution, program administrator, the administrator's email address, name of your degree program, and your expected date of completion.
All CPAA Affiliate members receive a 30-percent discount and Foundation members get a 40% discount on entry fees--on top of the EARLYBIRD discount! If you are entering in time to use the EARLYBIRD discount (completed entries must be received by Friday, Aug. 18, 2023), Jen will refund you 30% or 40%, depending on membership level, on the backend and email you proof of refund. So, you would check out using the coupon code EARLYBIRD, but then Jen will refund you the extra discounted rate. If you miss the EARLYBIRD deadline, email Jheebner@cpaa.org to obtain the coupon code for the member discount alone.
Want to join CPAA? Click here to see the benefits!
Click here to enter the 2023 IPDC!
Need Pearls for Your Design? Consider reaching out to a CPAA Foundation member below who specializes in loose goods.
Contact: Joshua Israileff
Specialty: South Sea pearls, including baroque strands
Contact: Peggy Grosz
Specialty: Top-quality pearls including white, golden, and silver South Sea, Tahitian 'black', Fijian 'black', Japanese Akoya, and all saltwater varieties of keshi
Contact: Anil Maloo
bagginsinc@sbcglobal.net
Specialty: Tahitian pearls, baby akoyas, and white and blue akoya pearls
Contact: Aziz Baselely and Raphael Baselely
Specialty: High-end freshwater and South Sea pearls, including myriad shapes and mabé pearls and Maki-e mosaic pearls. Eliko also carries akoya pearls of all colors.
Contact: Richard Blake
Specialty: No pearls—all clasps!
Contact: Betty Sue King
Specialty: Tahitian, South Sea, and some high-end natural-color freshwater as well as akoya pearls of all colors.
Contact: Andrew Moline
Specialty: Top-end saltwater pearls, including natural-color blue akoyas and all colors of South Sea pearls.
Contact: Sonny Sethi
Specialty: All varieties, including a wide assortment of conch pearls
2023 IPDC Timeline
Friday, June 30, 2023. Contest Opens
Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. Judges Announced
Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. EARLYBIRD Deadline Closes
Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. Contest Closes for Entries
Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. U.S. finalists announced. All finalists’ pieces are photographed this week by CPAA. Finalists must ship out their goods to CPAA’s photographer on this date.
Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Live judging in Manhattan occurs.
Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. All winners announced. Select U.S. winners and finalists will go on display and sale at the Aaron Faber Gallery in New York City.